In known wrapping machines of a similar type the cylindrical housing receiving the counted coins consists of two cylindrical half-shells equipped at the bottom with a sleeve. During the loading process the two half-shells are connected, having an interior diameter nearly equal to that of the coins to be processed. As soon as a predetermined number of coins has been stacked, a swiveled stop slides over the top of the stack clamping the stack securely to a bottom stop. Then the two half-shells are opened up and the stack is transferred to a wrapping device.
The wrapping device consists of three offset guide rollers, their axes parallel to that of the stack. One of these rollers can be turned sideways to allow insertion of the stacked coins. Then the rollers are driven toward the stack and rotated while paper tape serving as wrapper is fed to the stack. Compacting the stack is effected by pressure between the bottom stop and an arm pressing down from the top. The rotation of the rollers is transferred to the stack and the paper wrapped around it. The track along which the paper moves is directed over a toothed cutting knife. When a predetermined and adjustable length of paper has been wrapped around the stack, the paperflow is automatically stopped, producing sufficient tension for tearing the paper off along the extended knife.
The width of the paperstrip is calculated to allow for a certain excess of paper both at the top and the bottom of the stack. This excess is folded over by edging hooks activated by the stoppage of the paperflow while the stack continues rotating. This operation prevents the coins from dropping out of the wrapper. The edging operation can be limited in advance by installing stops that are adjusted to the height of the stack whereby the simultaneous release of the completed, wrapped stack can be effected. This is done by swinging outward at least one of the guide rollers travelling on the lower swiveling stop.
Resumption of input and stacking in the cylindrical housing can begin during the final stage of wrapping. The known wrapping machine is characterized by a high output at a fast rate of speed. However, due to the separation of the stacking and the packaging units, which call for a transfer device, the known machine involves a major effort in engineering and production. As a result, the equipment is so expensive to build that only relatively large financial institutions find it profitable to use it.
In the change-over to coins of different sizes, the axially split housing must be exchanged for one that corresponds in its diameter to that of the new stack. Guide rollers and edgers must also be adjusted to it. Since in most instances the height of the stack changes too, the position of the holding arm which presses down upon the stack during the transport from the stacking area to the packaging point, must be adapted accordingly. For that reason a suitably trained operator is needed to operate the conventional equipment.